The literature for his U.S. Congress campaign describes him as believing "strongly in the 'Right to Life.'" The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation gives him its highest rating.

But he has backed away from legislation that would require all women to receive an ultrasound before having an abortion.

He and about 30 other lawmakers recently withdrew as co-sponsors of House Bill 1077, which medical and policy experts say would require some women to receive transvaginal ultrasounds. Unlike the well-known "jelly-on-the-belly" procedure, they require a physician to insert a probe into a woman's vagina to produce the sonogram images.

"Well, listen, I don't know that I'm against it," Perry said of transvaginal ultrasounds. "But I'm not sure it needs to be mandated. A--I'm not a doctor. B--I'm not a woman."

Five of York County's seven state representatives were co-sponsors on the bill, titled the "Women's Right to Know Act." But lawmakers shelved the bill ahead of a scheduled debate after an uproar of protests. And Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, said concerns from the medical community about the bill need to be vetted, and that lawmakers are focusing on "the budget, fiscal responsibility," and jobs.

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State Rep. Will Tallman, R-Reading Township, said it should pass.

"Whether it will or not, that's another whole story," he said.

The battle in Pennsylvania comes as other states have increased abortion restrictions in recent years. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a similar bill as the one proposed in Pennsylvania this week, making his state the eighth in the country to require ultrasounds before abortions.

The Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health issues, estimates that legislatures across the country passed 92 new abortion restrictions -- more than doubling the previous record of 34 in 2005.

What kind of ultrasound?

The proposed Pennsylvania law would require all women to receive an ultrasound 24 hours before an abortion, as well as a printed copy of the sonogram image.

The bill's primary sponsor, state Rep. Kathy Rapp, R- Warren County, described it on her website as a law that would "protect life, not only the lives of the unborn, but just as importantly, the life of the mother."

Critics have called it an invasion of privacy, aimed at making it more difficult for a women to receive an abortion.

"These laws are really demeaning to women," said Suellen Craig , the president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Central Pennsylvania. "The whole premise of this is that if the government doesn't mandate ultrasounds to women, they won't make an informed decision -- the premise is wrong from the very beginning, regardless of how you do it."

Much of the debate has focused on the type of ultrasound that would be required. The word "transvaginal" doesn't appear in the 22-page bill proposed by Pennsylvania lawmakers.

"That's not even part of this. That's smokescreen," said Tallman. "That's political tactics."

But Dr. Sherry Blumenthal, vice chair of the Pennsylvania section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said it can be hard to see a fetus without a vaginal ultrasound during the first six weeks of a pregnancy.

"Most abortions are done in the first 3 months of pregnancy so there may be a significant number of (ultrasounds) which require (a) probe," she said in an email.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society, which has no official position on abortion rights, opposes the bill.

"We don't feel that medical procedures should be determined by statute," said Dr. Marilyn J. Heine the organization's president, who also is an emergency room and hematology oncology physician. "...It's a very bad precedent."

Four York County representatives remain co-sponsors of the bill: Tallman; state Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township; state Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-Hellam Township; and state Rep. Seth Grove, R-Dover Township.

State Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus, and state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester, were the only two York County House members who weren't ever co-sponsors.

"I'm really not sure I understand what the objection is. It is just kind of closing the loop on something that is standard practice and best practice," she said, adding that Planned Parenthood already requires an ultrasound before an abortion.

Craig acknowledged that generally that is true.

Human Life Services provides pregnancy tests and ultrasounds to a little more than 300 women a year. And Abel said about 90 percent of them opt to see the ultrasound.

"Many times they're very surprised," Abel said. "Because it's amazing how early in a woman's pregnancy a heartbeat can be detected."

Comparisons to Virginia bill

In May, Pennsylvania lawmakers cited the case of Philadelphia physician Kermit Gosnell -- who was charged in January 2011 in the deaths of seven babies and one adult patient -- to push through a law that overhauls the operations of abortion clinics.

In December, they passed legislation that would prevent certain insurance policies, which are part of the 2010 health care reform bill, from covering abortions. "There was pushback, but it didn't really effect what they ended up doing," said Craig.

The results were different for the Pennsylvania ultrasound bill. It passed out of the Health committee in February, the same month abortion rights advocates rallied against a similar ultrasound bill in Virginia.

Some critics called it "state-sponsored rape," and it became a punch line on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

But Nash, with the Guttmacher Institute, said the language in the bill is still vague enough that it would require the transvaginal ultrasounds for many women.

In Pa., lost goodwill?

The Pennsylvania ultrasound bill was referred to committee on Oct. 5. At one point, it had 112 co-sponsors. But this week, it was down to 82.

Perry was one of them, and he said his original intent was to crack down on rogue abortion providers. That October legislation included an exemption, saying parts of the bill didn't apply "if, in the physician's reasonable medical opinion, the probable gestational age of the unborn child is less than eight weeks."

That eight-week time period is crucial from a medical perspective, because transvaginal probes are often not necessary after then.

But lawmakers eliminated that exemption when they passed an amended bill out of the health committee with a 15-7 vote, along party lines.

"They seem to have destroyed a certain amount of good will with the way this thing has gone through the procedure," said Perry. "From a pragmatic standpoint it might be appropriate. From a political standpoint it might be untenable."

About the bill

Proponents and critics of the proposed House Bill 1077 have argued about the implications of the bill. Here's what it would require:

Ultrasound tests would have to be performed 24 hours before a woman receives an abortion "to make an accurate determination of gestational age of the unborn child," the bill states.

The amount charged for an ultrasound would have to be billed separately from the fee for an abortion.

The individual performing the ultrasound must "position the screen so that the patient is able to view the ultrasound test in its entirety ... The patient is not required to view the screen."

A patient would have to receive two printouts of the ultrasound image in separate sealed envelopes.

A physician who violates parts of the law would be guilty of a misdemeanor of a third degree.

Other states with ultrasound laws

Nationally, 20 states have some type of ultrasound law that governs ultrasound procedures prior to an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that researches and tracks sexual and reproductive health issues.

Those laws vary.

Seven states require some form of pre-abortion ultrasound screening: They are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Virginia's new law takes effect in July.Nine states require that the provider offer the woman the chance to see the image if an ultrasound is performed: Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.Five states require that the provider offer an ultrasound screening: Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah.